Trusting the police

We don't yet know how drifter and alcoholic Ian Tomlinson provoked a policeman to attack him minutes before he collapsed and died of heart failure.

We may guess he was uncooperative or said something offensive, at a time when police nerves were frayed by the G20 riots.

Pictured: A passer by takes a photo of Ian Tomlinson after he was pushed to the ground

All we know, because the incident was captured on video (despite
Government moves to restrict the right to photograph the police), is
that Mr Tomlinson had his hands in his pockets and his back to his
attacker when the officer struck him with a baton and shoved him to the
ground.

In short, this was an unacceptable assault, in a burst of temper, on a man who seemed to pose no physical threat.

With
the eyes of the entire world on London, you would have expected an
immediate and punctilious investigation into an incident after which a
man died.

Why, then, did the police put out misleading statements
for five days before they even admitted that Tomlinson had been
attacked?

The Mail has huge admiration for the great majority of
Britain's police. Our society demands a great deal of them -
including that they treat even drifters and alcoholics with courtesy
and restraint.

But equally, if the police are to remain worthy of
our trust, it is vital that when incidents like this occur, they are
investigated with the utmost transparency and rigour.